Mandrakelinux 10.2 Beta 1 Toured

Anonymous Coward writes "The first beta of Mandrakelinux 10.2 has been released. New package versions and features include some changes to the installation program, kernel 2.6.10, glibc 2.3.4 and gcc 3.4.3. You also get KDE 3.3.2, Gnome, 2.8.1, and GTK 2.6.1. Mozilla-firefox replaces Mozilla, and you will also find gimp 2.2, cdrecord 2.01.01a21 with DVD+R Dual Layers support, OpenOffice.org 1.1.4, Postgresql 8.0, and MySQL 4.1.9. Improvements are also seen in the Mandrakelinux Control Center ergonomy, to ease the network configuration with a better integration of the firewall tool. OSDir tours Mandrakelinux 10.2 Beta 1 with GNOME and KDE in their Screenshot Tours."

Wow another incremental improvement.

[Gherikill]

I don't understand why they always release new version numbers for incremental improvements in packages.

Re:Wow another incremental improvement.

[CDMA_Demo]

hope this fixes Post-9.0 Mandrake issues

Mozilla-firefox replaces Mozilla

[BrookHarty]

Does this also mean it comes with Thunderbird to replace the mail?

I like the idea of Mozilla as a whole suite of applications, that way you dont have to install multiple applications, when web+email are the 2 more popular applications. To each his own I guess, Thunderbird is rather nice and works with my exchange server (imap).

Also.

In the next betas, you will be able to copy all the CDs packages on your hard drive, so that you will not need the CDs anymore afterwards to install a new package with urpmi or rpmdrake. Moreover the installation will allow to boot from a USB key (if you cannot boot with a CD), and to save the packages selection on a USB key.

Nice, I actually took my cdrom out of my linux box but it has a USB port. Handy, now to test usb booting. :)

Too much focus on packages

[fm6]

Does it really matter whether a distro comes with Firefox of Mozilla? If you don't like the packages they provide by default, you can probably find the alternative you want on the CD or Web, or build it yourself. What matters is the core functionality of the distro: how's the installation software? The admin tools? Does it come with drivers for my hardware, and are the drivers easy to install and configure? Are all those obscure little configuration files correctly written and easy to tweak? Never mind how many different Window Managers there are, is it easy to switch between them, so I can experiment?

One important difference between Mandrake and other distros is that it's compiled for recent processors instead of the works-everywhere 386 target. Which in theory should make some difference in performance, but you never hear anything about that.

Mandrake

[bcmm]

I don't understand about new package versions being a reason to call it a new OS (I know they have more, but it should even be one of the reasons).

Not trolling, but genuinly wondering, when they say the new version has "new $version of gimp, Oo.o, etc. etc." does that mean that they don't package them when they are released but instead when it suits Mandrake's release schedule?

Re:Release

[RangerRick98]

So what criteria must be satisfied to create a new version of a distribution? Why can't the distribution just provide the updated files through means like urpmi and you upgrade the packages that need to be upgraded? Why the need to download ISOs, burn to CDs, reboot the box and perform the installation/upgrade?

Re:Release

[dolmen.fr]

So what criteria must be satisfied to create a new version of a distribution?

Time.
Every six months for Mandrake. And they are right because that is the only way to do it: all free software projects are independents and have different schedules (when they have one).

Why can't the distribution just provide the updated files through means like urpmi and you upgrade the packages that need to be upgraded?

Money.
Distribution makers need cash at a constant (or increasing) rate. Free updates does not gives money. Microsoft has the same problem: they need that customers upgrades to their latest OS.

Why the need to download ISOs, burn to CDs, reboot the box and perform the installation/upgrade?

You don't have too.
You can find with Google how to upgrade your system without reinstalling with CD images mounted without burning them. But if they told you clearly how to do it, you would not buy new CDs.
Also, it is easier for everybody (you and them) to support a system installed from scratch, than a system upgraded every six months for 5 years.

Not the best of distrobutions, but...

[bcmm]

It's a bit slow to boot and to run, and I don't like some bits of it like the control centre, but it's can be good for newbies...

That said, I tried several distributions (starting with Mandrake 9.2 and returning to later version of Mandrake) dual-boot when I was still using Windows, and Gentoo was the first that I actually used more than Windows. After using Fedora and Mandrake, I actually thought that Linux boot up times were inevitably longer than Windows.

Linux is Linux

[Codename_V]

Exactly. I mean, if you boot Fedora or Mandrake into single user mode I'd imagine it will be every bit as fast as whatever your Gentoo setup is. Or if you turn on as many services on your Gentoo machine as comes standard on a default Fedora or Mandrake install then your Gentoo machine will probably boot just as slow.

Of course with Gentoo you get the leetness of needing to do everything by hand. But if you don't like the Mandrake control center, then feel free to be just as leet on Mandrake and do things

Re:Gnu/Linux

[RangerRick98]

Actually thats [sic] assuming that you can turn on as many service [sic] as is available on Mandrake on Gentoo , [sic] its [sic] not the case [sic] there [sic] not available.

Actually, portage has the largest collection of software available of any package management system I've ever used, and yes, I ran Mandrake before I switched to Gentoo.

Also , if you dont know how to setup a system , thats why its going to be slow to boot , on any system. (I'm not going to take the time to notate the errors in this q

Re:Gnu/Linux

[Lord Kano]

Give him a break with the "[sic]"s, he's Canadian. They don't know much aboot good English, eh?

LK

GNOME/Evo upgrade?

[Doc Ruby]

I want to upgrade to GNOME 2.8.1 and Evolution 2.0.1 , but apt-get keeps reporting broken dependencies. I want to keep my Debian 3.0r1 install, but update those desktop packages. What can I do?

Re:GNOME/Evo upgrade?

[Doc Ruby]

Eh, pointing at the right apt repository and some manual installs of the dependencies does the trick. That's not OK, but it'll do.

Mandrake with possible current Gnome- can it be??!

[bach37]

Hurry Mandrake, before Gnome 2.10 is released!! :-p